that were headed for a landfill. If there’s a defining moment in the Equal Dollars story, this is it. From those bananas and six skids of produce the food market was born, and the currency finally had the value it desperately needed. The produce U.S. Foods gives to Equal Dollars doesn’t have a value in traditional dollars. In fact, the company was paying to throw out food — items that were close to a sell-by date, for example — because it was cheaper than paying for storage. “They could donate to us the food at their shipping dock that they could no longer sell or even give away because the volume at times requires them to bury it in landfills, creating a [greater] landfill problem,” says Fishman. “And we thought, ‘Wait a minute, we have people wanting the benefit of exchanging with each other, and we have the currency.’” The main Equal Dollars food market operates from the RHD headquarters in Germantown. Every Monday, a group of some 30 volunteers gathers around 11 a.m. to unload and repackage the food from U.S. Foods and other companies that work with RHD. Everyone working at the market is paid in Equal Dollars; =$25 for one to four hours of work, and =$50 for four to eight hours. By the time the market officially opens at 1 p.m., Brockington says there’s always a lengthy line of people waiting to spend their Equal Dollars. [→] Last year, Equal Dollars began growing food, converting a 14,000-square-foot vacant lot into an urban farm. The project relied on volunteers like Brandon to help clean the lot for planting. Volunteers were rewarded with Equal Dollars.
clout and extensive network of services, acts as a Federal Reserve and Treasury for the currency by printing the bills and issuing them to employees and members who sign up for the program. To start, members pay a $10 fee and get =$50 (Equal Dollars) in return.
finding life in the philadelphia community For 12 years, Equal Dollars worked within a fairly narrow network of businesses that allowed members to purchase items like jewelry or clothing accessories. Yet it was lacking two crucial elements that Glover says a community currency needs to thrive: true value that U.S. dollars don’t acknowledge and a constant ambassador to educate people about that value. Enter Deneene Brockington. Brockington was hired in 2008 as the new director of the Equal Dollars program. Although she arrived with 20 years of experience in nonprofits, there wasn’t much in her background that prepared her to tackle the issue of Equal Dollars’ lackluster life in the community. But Fishman says she jumped into the challenge with a creative gusto that impressed him. “When I started five years ago, things were kind of defunct. Nothing was really happening,” says Brockington. “The first thing we needed to do was make it real for people, to make it possible for them to get some basic everyday things.” Brockington discovered the value she was looking for almost by accident during a visit to the local distribution center of U.S. Foods, a massive foodservices company with which RHD has extensive contracts. “Someone in their produce department said ‘Hey, do you need bananas?’ and we said ‘Sure, we’ll take bananas,’” recalls Brockington. “They said they throw away bananas every week, so we sent a truck — a rented U-Haul truck at the time — and not only did they give us bananas, but they gave us six skids of produce”
I’ve always been extremely bothered at the separation between the haves and the have-nots… in why so many people are left without employment – or without adequate employment – or housing or healthcare or a decent education.”
bob fishman
Weavers Way Your Food. Your Farms. Your Community. Your Connection. Your Co-op.
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A member-owned food cooperative open to all. Chestnut Hill 8424 Germantown Ave.
Mt. Airy 559 Carpenter Lane
Across the Way 610 Carpenter Lane
Ap ril 20 13
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